Improvement in railroad-jacks



CALEB W. HORNOR, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILROAD-JACKS.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 185,178, dated December 12, 1876 application tiled October 5, 1876.

To all whom it may concern,

Be it known that I, GALEB W. HoRNoR, of

the city and county of Philadelphia, and State' machine for lifting materials used in laying" and repairing railroad-tracks, portable, easily manipulated in the shortest time, and seltsnstaining when wound up, thus dispensing with the lever, and saving the cost of a laborer, now employed f or weight on the long arm of the lever, by combining the crank-handle, pinion-wheel, rack, and hook, or two hooks, grasping on both sides the material to be raised, so as to force up with full tension by means of a walking-beam both sides, thus offering` a uniform bearing on the piece beneath for the imposed weight.

The machine consists of two parallel uprights, A A', or standards, united by a crosspiece, B, at the top, also toward the lower extremities, where they are more separated, and prolonged to a convenient length, to stand over the article to be lifted. The two feet U C' are somewhat expanded, to prevent sinking in the earth. On the inside of one upright is a rack, D, and fitted to run in this is a pinionwheel, E, on a shaft projecting beyond the uprights. At one end of this shaft is a crankv handle, F. On the other is balanced a short walking-beam, G. Y At either extremity of this beam is fastened, by thumbscrew, one blade of a pair of forceps or tongs, H H', having the lower extremity curved inward and termidient to the crank.

nating in a sharp hook, I I', at the other end each has an oval ring-handle, K K'. These blades have two or more holes, L, &;c., for bearing, and that their elevation may be changed at will. 'Io these extra holes are adapted, also by screws, the lower extremities of short jointed scissor-like handles M M', slightly bent outwardly, that are useful in adjusting with one hand the hooked blades, their own handles being made use of when both hands are required to give the hooks a hold in the under part of the material to be raised, if of wood. On each side of the pinion-wheel the shaft runs through, and has its bearing on, a flattened block, N N', with parallel vertical sides grooved to fit flanges projecting from each standard, on which they slide, obe- Next the crank is fastened a ratchet-wheel, O, running against the grooved-block of that side. attached a catch, P, to t the notches in the wheel, to sustain the force of the machine when supporting a weight. To prevent the beam from rotating too far, projections Q Q are attached to the next block. The tongs may be crossed and screwed to the end ofthe shaft, dispensing with the walking-beam and extra handles.

I claim as my invention- The combination, in a railroad-jack, of thc rack D, pinion E, walking-beam G, tongs H H', jointedv handles M M', slide N N', and ratchet-wheel O, all as described and shown.

CALEB W. HORNOR.

Witnesses:

J. HOWARD GENDELL, LUTHER E. 'EIEwITIx On the blocl; is 

